Truex Jr. rallies to win NASCAR Chase opener

Published 6:03 pm, Sunday, September 18, 2016

Martin Truex Jr. went from a completely unraveled tire that left him a lap down to the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup championship lead for the first time in his career.

He can thank a late caution in what has been an emotional year for the small-team driver.

Truex shot to the front after a late re-start and pulled away to give Furniture Row Racing a NASCAR Sprint Cup playoff-opening victory Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.

“I’ve had a lot of practice at it,” Truex said about the on-track obstacles. “I think my approach really changed two years ago when (girlfriend) Sherry got diagnosed with cancer. My approach to all those things changed and made me a better driver.”

NASCAR announced after the race that Truex’s No. 78 Toyota failed the laser inspection, but the infraction was not at the level of negating the victory for Chase qualification purposes. Truex is expected to receive a point penalty this week.

Truex restarted fourth and Elliott fifth, and Truex quickly got to the front and held off Joey Logano on the final lap for his third victory of the season. Truex is guaranteed to move on when the Chase field is cut from 16 to 12 in two weeks.

Truex, whose team gets technical support from Joe Gibbs Racing, made the last four in the 2015 Chase. His 2016 season started with near miss at the Daytona 500 and a Coca-Cola 600 win, while Sherry Pollex has battled ovarian cancer. She’s now in remission.

Rosberg held on to beat a fast-finishing Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull by just four tenths of a second at the Marina Bay street circuit while Hamilton took third place, narrowly in front of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

Rosberg’s third successive win has taken him back to the top of the drivers’ championship, eight points ahead of Hamilton with six races left.

NHRA: John Force won the Countdown-opening NHRA Carolina Nationals at Concord, N.C., for his 146th career victory and third of the season.

Force, 67, a 16-time season champion, powered his Chevy Camaro Funny Car to a 3.946-second run at 324.05 mph to beat No. 1 qualifier Tommy Johnson Jr. in the final.

Antron Brown won the Top Fuel final for his 59th career victory; Jason Line won in Pro Stock, and Chip Ellis in Pro Stock Motorcycle.